Houlihan Capital & Fairness Opinions
Studies have shown shareholders are challenging more and more Merger & Acquisition deals. “Currently, over 90% of M&A deals over $100 million are challenged by shareholders,” writes Vice Chancellor Donald Parsons Jr. (Delaware Court of Chancery) and attorney Jason Tyler (Sullivan & Cromwell) in a new paper (1). Any dissenting minority shareholder group poses a […]
SEC Enforcement Action Against Hedge Fund Manager
On March 22, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against Houstonbased hedge fund manager, George R. Jarkesy Jr., and his firm, John Thomas Capital Management (“JTCM”). Jarkesy has been accused of defrauding investors in two hedge funds by inflating the value of the funds’ assets and charging bloated management and brokerage fees. […]
SEC Enforcement action against Oppenheimer Co.
On March 11, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Oppenheimer Asset Management, Inc. and Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management, LLC (“Oppenheimer”) have agreed to pay approximately $3.0 million to settle allegations that Oppenheimer misled investors about the valuation policies and performance of a private equity fund-of-funds. The SEC filed an Assurance of Discontinuance […]
SEC Steps Up Hedge Fund and Private Equity Enforcement
It is becoming increasingly clear that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is accelerating its investigative efforts in the hedge fund and private equity space. During early 2010, the SEC created five new special investigative units, including the Asset Management Unit (“AMU”). The AMU was established to seek examination into the practices and […]
Houlihan Capital Issues Asset Valuation Oversight Article
The Securities and Exchange Commission, on December 10, 2012, brought an enforcement action against eight former fund directors for failing to oversee asset valuation at five mutual funds that resulted in material misstatements of net asset values in certain reports and the inaccurate pricing of shares. The action is noteworthy because, previously, the SEC had […]